Thank You Aquagoggles!!

I ordered a pair of prescription swim goggles from Aquagoggles.com and they arrived yesterday in the mail! I was very excited to try them out this afternoon, and they are amazing. I highly recommend Aquagoggles' products for anyone who is tired of not being able to see the pace clock during workouts, or begrudgingly swims with contacts (I fall into this latter category). They are only $21.95 US for a pair, and worth every penny.

And so today I present to you my "Aquagoggle Augmented Swim Workout":

Warmup:
300m easy, 200m kick, 300m pull
8x50 stroke work

Main Set:
3x (25m easy, 50m moderate, 75m moderate/hard, 100m hard@<1:30)
100m easy
3x200m @ 3:10

Cooldown:
4x (50m easy, 50m kick)
200m pull, 200m kick, 100m easy

Total: 3350 metres.

Thank you Aquagoggles!

The windy season

October in Halifax means wind, rain, and more wind. Fighting the wind as it batters and buffets you and your bike is an adventure to say the least. But it will make me stronger. I've got a 60k fight against the wind (aka "try not to get blown off the road") this morning. Should be fun.

This has been a fairly easy recovery week in the pool after my big swim mileage last week. It's almost nice to give my body a little bit of a rest.

I can't wait to start running consistently again! Finally no ankle pain!

"Sports do not build character. They reveal it."
-- Casey Stengel

Breakthrough Swim!

Today's swim workout was short but productive. On Thursday mornings I train with a coach, and he always pushes me, which is definitely what I need in the water. After an easy warmup the main set was a set of six 150 meters.

The set goes like this:
1: 50 meters hard, 100 meters easy
2: 100 meters hard, 50 meters easy
3: 150 meters hard

50 meters easy recovery

4: 100 meters easy, 50 meters hard
5: 50 meters easy, 100 meters hard
6: 150 meters hard

It's a great set for aerobic training and I was definitely hurting by the time I hit the second set of three 150s. However, the best part of the workout was it was the first time I've been able to hold a sub 1:30/100m for my hard sets, which is a breakthrough for me! I've been putting in a lot of time at the pool these last few weeks and I think that it is finally starting to pay off!

PEI Weekend and Monday Workouts

I spent this past weekend in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, watching my roommate Isabelle run her first 1/2 Marathon. Isabelle was so amazing this summer, she came to every single one of my races to cheer me on. I was excited to be able to return the favour! Myself, Tammy and Issy piled into the car on Saturday morning for a road trip.



The Confederation Bridge spans 12.9km from New Brunswick, over the Northumberland Strait to PEI. It's the longest bridge over "ice-covered" waters in the world. We stopped before we crossed to take some pictures and enjoy the view.

We arrived in Charlottetown a little after 5pm, picked up Issy's race kit and headed out for a pasta dinner. Sunday morning we awoke around 6:50am and had some breakfast. Issy was nervous, and very excited. We took a black marker and wrote some inspirational words to get her through the hardest part of the race (kms 15-19):



After breakfast we headed over to the race site to get all ready. It was so amazing to be able to share in that "first race" feeling, I'd almost forgotten what it was like. Issy was so poised and focused. But she was still able to ham it up for the camera, pre-race:



At approximately 10:15am, the runners were asked to line up on the start line and the Premier of PEI said a few words. Then they were off! The weather left a lot to be desired this weekend, it was raining and cold, so Tammy and I found a nice warm place to sit and wait for Issy to return.

When the race clock was at about 1 hour and 45 minutes, we walked over to the finish line to wait for Issy to come in. It wasn't long before we saw her flying over the first chip time mat, looking fresh and strong.



Issy finished with a time of 1:52:49. An absolutey stellar time for her first half marathon! I was so proud of her. And she was pretty happy herself, basking in the glory of finishing the race, and enjoying a taste of her finishers medal!!



After the race, a very nice gentleman took a picture of the three of us:



So I'm pretty sure Issy has been bitten by the race bug. It wasn't more than 10 minutes after the race before she was asking where the next 1/2 Marathon was in our area! It wouldn't surprise me if she ran a full marathon next year. It was a great weekend!

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As for a training update: long course season is back at the pool, which is great. I really like swimming in a 50 metre pool, it makes it so much easier to find your rhythm without constant flip turns that break up your stroke. Today's workouts were a 3000 long course meter swim (Main set 10x100m descending) followed by 45 minutes of weights. I started my off-season strength training program last week and I was definitely feeling it in my muscles! But it won't be more than a few weeks before I start feeling stronger.

I think my ankle is at about 85% now. I have two 20 minute runs planned this week, which will hopefully allow me to assess the injury situation, and plan my recovery rebuild for running. I'm swimming and biking with no pain now. Shouldn't be long before I'm back and 100%!!

What it takes

I got back from my morning workout and settled into my usual routine of coffee and email checking. The Tri-Drs mailing-list is amazing. Every day I am inspired by the work ethic, dreams, and determination of every single athlete on that list. Even though I so often feel alone in my dedication this crazy sport, especially when questioned by people who can't "understand" why I would put my body through the pain I do, this list reminds me that I am far from alone. Funny how little things can motivate a person to push themselves to the extreme. Next week I start my strength training program, and I may even get to start running again; my excitement is nearly palpable.

Jill posted this quote from Sheila Taormina today. These were her words on finishing second in what's allegedly her final World Cup Triathlon race :

"I was thinking, 'Third place is fine. I'll just let her pass me,' But the men on our team were screaming, 'You do not give up! This is your last race! You go out like a champion! You leave everything on the course!' I thought, 'Oh, they're so right.' I barfed my brains out at the finish line for five minutes straight. It was kind of great. To throw up for five minutes straight, you could say, I could not have done one thing more."

Racing. Leaving all out there on the course. Giving it everything you have until your body breaks and you can't give any more. That lung busting, gut wrenching feeling of puking your guts out in cathartic release. This is why we do it. To see just exactly how much our bodies can take.

I have to thank Shelley for posting the link to the "What it Takes" video on Peter Reid's Website:
http://www.peterreid.com/what_it_takes.htm

This video gave me goosebumps, and almost brought tears to my eyes. During racing season it's so easy to measure your progress and keep motivated.

But as the "off-season" looms large, now is when I need to start reaching for that daily inspiration to get myself to the pool at 6:30am, to go out for those long rides, to go faster, climb higher, be stronger.

Citius, Altius, Fortius.

Saturday Training Ride and Update

Today was my second ride since injuring my ankle a month ago:

80.5km. Ankle: Very little pain! Woo!

My legs feel ok, although the last 8km or so was a struggle. (Note to self: 1 gel and a banana will not cut it for a ride over 2 1/2 hours...). I'm really feeling the lack of miles right now. My muscular endurance is waaay d0wn. HR wise I felt really good though, so I'm glad that I haven't lost too much cardio over the last month. I'm still trying to get more comfortable riding in a group. This paceline thing is so new to me! But I had a great time.

Also, I had my first swim workout with my coach last Thursday and oh man was I slow! Ah well...I'll get there. And my physiotherapist said that I can probably start running again in a week or too! Yay!